Rays pitcher Juan Sandoval, who is blind in the right eye, is trying to make the major league roster. / Chris O'Meara, AP

by Paul White, USA TODAY Sports

by Paul White, USA TODAY Sports

PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. ‚?? When Andrew Friedman learned he could get a pitcher with pretty good stuff but who also happened to be 32 years old and blind in one eye, the Tampa Bay Rays general manager's response was quick.

Which eye?

Juan Sandoval is right-handed. It's his right eye that has been sightless since he was an innocent bystander in a 2006 shooting incident in a restaurant in his native Dominican Republic. That's the eye farthest from home plate when Sandoval winds up so, Friedman thought while listening to Rays reliever's Joel Peralta's recommendation, why not?

Now manager Joe Maddon is thinking, "Why not?" about the unlikeliest of non-roster players in the Rays camp ‚?? but one with poise, control and a full repertoire of pitches that includes a lively mid-90s fastball.

"I'm 32 years old and, honestly, I'm in the best shape of my career," says Sandoval, who is scheduled to pitch Sunday during Tampa Bay's spring game against the Minnesota Twins at Fort Myers, Fla.

"I've worked hard but it's not about the eye," he says. "I don't think about that. I have three kids now. I support my mom and dad. These are key things that are at the center of my life, the ones that make me work harder. These kids are maybe why I got better. I have to support them. Not because I want to prove to the world."

Sandoval had spent four years in the Seattle Mariners system before the accident, reaching Class AA. He says he realizes now he really didn't know how to succeed.

"I wasn't ready," he says. "I would think, 'Why am I not making it?' Now, I can see that I was young and I was missing too many things ‚?? command, control, changing speeds, understanding the game. When you're young, you don't understand. You just want to throw hard."

Three months after the accident, when swelling from a seven-hour operation subsided, doctors told Sandoval he would never again see from his right eye.

"I really thought I was going to see again after the surgery," he says. "That was the toughest part."

His family began asking what he was going to do with the rest of his life.

"I made them feel better by saying, 'I'm 25, I can go back to the university.' But inside, I'm thinking, 'I'm not going to allow anybody to limit me.'"

But he was limited. It was nearly a year before Sandoval could get back on a mound. He had adapted to living day-to-day with the change in his vision.

He found he could play catch, then got on a mound and found he still could throw strikes.

"My stuff was there," he says. "Ground balls were the toughest part because I didn't have depth perception. It took a little time to get that."

Still, four more seasons in the Mariners, Brewers and Phillies organizations got him as far as Class AAA but with mediocre and sometimes poor results.

Finally, he went to the Mexican League in 2011, pitching for three teams over two seasons.

"The Mexican League opened the door," Sandoval says. "I got a lot of experience there."

Not affiliated with major league teams, Mexican League teams aren't worried about developing prospects.

Opportunity, to say the least, is abundant.

"It was crazy," said Sandoval, who made 67 appearances in 103 games last year, yet produced the best results - a 7-3 record, a 2.97 ERA - of his career.

"They don't care, as long as you're getting people out. If you know you could be pitching every day, you have to prepare harder. I had to work my ass off."

And he kept pitching into the Dominican Winter League where, as he says, "God worked in mysterious ways."

Peralta also is from Bonao but is nearly five years older than Sandoval. Winter league rules allow a team to add players for the playoffs from eliminated teams. So, Peralta joined Sandoval's team.

"He was surprised by the way I was getting people out," Sandoval says. "He was asking me how come I'm not in the big leagues or at least having a shot. I said, 'I don't know. Maybe I'm 32, I'm playing in the Mexican League, I only see out of one eye.'"

Peralta said he was going to call Friedman.

"I said, 'Oh, I'm going to start praying.'" Sandoval says.

"Now, I feel like I'm 100% ready to make it to the big leagues," he says. "I have more speed in my arm, more control. My pitches are a lot better."

Jobs are scarce on the talented Tampa Bay pitching staff even a good spring could land Sandoval at Class AAA Durham (N.C.), waiting for an opening.

"This is the opportunity I've dreamed of," he says. "I'm not missing anything because of my eye. I'm not complaining. If I make it to the big leagues, it's just like all the kids who want to make it."

Much of what's most important in Sandoval's life has occurred since the accident.

He married Elisa, a nutritionist at a Dominican hospital. They had twin boys, Jhonsel and Johansel, in December to go along with 2-year-old Alvin.

He learned to drive and passed all the necessary tests.

And then there's this pitching thing.

"I really like the person I am," he says. "I like what I've done. I'm cool with it. If I make it, I'm going to be happy because I know it's a story many people in the world can use to work for something they want."